Cashew processors lack raw materials

VietNamNet Bridge - Demand for agricultural exports including cashew, vegetables and fruit is increasing, but local companies are short of raw materials for export.

The Viet Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association (VFVA) said export orders had risen substantially compared to previous months, and prices on the world market had also gone up.

Orders from Japan for processed fruit and frozen vegetables have jumped to thousands of tonnes a month. Local exporters, however, can meet only 40-50 per cent of the demand.

In November, Viet Nam earned US$35 million from vegetable and fruit exports, an increase of 19 per cent over the same period last year.

The situation is also the same in the cashew industry, where there is a high demand in the world market but a severe shortage of raw materials for processing and export.

Last month, Viet Nam exported 15,000 tonnes of cashew, generating a revenue of $76 million, an increase of 15 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Cashew prices on the world market went up to $4,914 per tonne last month, an increase of $70 per tonne against October, the highest rise since the beginning of the year.

According to the Viet Nam Cashew Association, the country has about 400,000ha under cashew plantation, which meets only 60 per cent of the demand for raw materials for processing and export.

Viet Nam has had to import about 250,000 tonnes of raw cashews, mainly from Africa, Indonesia and Cambodia.

Due to the shortage, local companies have competed with each other to buy cashews, pushing up prices on the domestic market.

Experts have called for more sustainable development by urging companies to pour more investment into their raw material zones and use new high-yield varieties.

Growth in tea

Despite difficulties due to the global economic downturn, the tea industry will achieve a high growth rate this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The tea industry exported 13,000 tonnes worth $18 million in November, raising the total export value in the first 11 months of the year to $163 million, up 27 per cent in volume and nearly 20 per cent in value.

But raw materials accounted for as much as 95 per cent of the exported volume, with the price being much lower than processed tea products.

VietNamNet/Vietnam News